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Networks Impacting Education and Youth

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Church-2-School Initiative

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Hearing from our Cities | 2019 Report

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Event Report 

• Our Culture of Prayer Team facilitated a prayer meeting with over 20 leaders around this area.

• COGL worked with a Steering Team of practitioners in this area for planning the event. Their diverse professional backgrounds include youth pastors and workers, educators, college administrators, youth program directors.

• This team also planned a workshop, forum, and retreat, together which provided six practical ways for over 106 leaders and churches to serve schools.

City Discussion Panelists

• Amber Paxton, Office of Financial Empowerment under direction of the City of Lansing Liaison of Schools

• DeVaughn Croxton, Community in Schools of Michigan

Faith Community Panelists

• Vicky Parker, Church-2-School Outreach Partnership

• Mathew Smith, Pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Ways to Serve Our Cities

The City of Lansing partners with the Lansing School District and MSUFCU to provide the Lansing SAVE program, a post-secondary education savings account that is opened automatically for every LSD kindergartener and seeded with $5.

We then visit students monthly from December to May to deliver financial education lessons and accept deposits.

How to contribute: We’ve established the Community Champions program, whereby faith organizations can take up a special collection on any5th Sunday, and it will be deposited into the Lansing SAVE accounts of students in a chosen geography.

Resources for Community Groups

We partner with such organizations as Lansing Promise, Capital Area College Access Network, and the Lansing Financial Empowerment Center. These programs, along with Lansing SAVE, make up a financial inclusion system of supports from kindergarten through retirement. Additionally, Communities in Schools can also work with ministries to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Ways to Pray for our Cities

Pray for equity. We establish programs like Lansing SAVE to address issues of equitable access to post-secondary education. We ask you to pray that we all feel a sense of indictment to work on this together. Pray that equitable opportunities would be experienced for students regardless of their race and socioeconomic backgrounds.